Canadian Roger Sloan soars up Nova Scotia Open leaderboard

Jose de Jesus Rodriguez lines up a putt during second-round play at the Nova Scotia Open on Friday, in Windsor Junction.
(CHRISTIAN LAFORCE / Staff)

Buoyed by a surprise visit by his mom, Canadian Roger Sloan played a bogey-free round Friday and will have a share of the lead at the Nova Scotia Open whenever the third round begins.

With his mother Cathy following her son around Ashburn Golf Club’s New Course, Sloan fired a second-round-best 6-under 65 to tie Mexico’s Jose de Jesus Rodriguez after 36 holes at the inaugural Web.com Tour event.

“I was warming up yesterday morning, I turned (around) on the range and, lo and behold, there’s my mom smiling away,” recalled the Merritt, B.C., golfer. It’s the first Web.Com Tour event his mother has attended.

“That was an awesome surprise. It’s always great to play in front of my mom. She sits there religiously in front of the computer following me week after week. So it’s real nice for her to come out and watch it live.”

She witnessed her 27-year-old son play flawless golf. Sloan, who started on No. 10, collected six birdies, including a spectacular one on the 551-yard, closing par-5 hole in which he reached the green in two and just missed his eagle attempt.

It’s the third time Sloan has fired a 65 on the Web.com Tour.

“It was a great round,” said Sloan, ranked 68th on the season’s money list. “I just hit it solid, put my ball in great position and gave myself some chances on the greens which is probably the best game plan around here.

“It was nice to finish off with a birdie on the last,” he said. “My goal out there is just to hit the best shot each and every time I hit it. We’ll see where that puts me after 72 holes.”

When he tees off today will be up to Arthur. Forecasters say the hurricane will likely make landfall in southwestern Nova Scotia this morning as a strong post-tropical storm and will bring high winds and rain.

“The PGA Tour’s on-site meteorologist is monitoring all information related to Hurricane Arthur, provided from the Canadian Hurricane Centre and the National Hurricane Center in Miami,” the release said.

The Web.com Tour released its Saturday’s tee times later Friday evening. Groups of three will tee off from Nos. 1 and 10 beginning at noon, weather permitting.

Sloan, Rodriguez and American Zack Sucher are scheduled in the last group off No. 1 at 2:10 p.m.

“Kind of like everybody, we’ll play it by ear,” Sloan said. “Obviously we’re hoping for the best that the weather doesn’t play too much of a havoc on the conditions of the golf course.

“Right now, this golf course is playing really nice. We’ll monitor it tomorrow morning and go from there.”

Sloan and Rodriguez hold a three-stroke advantage over Sucher and David Skinns of England. Suchar shot a second-round 66 while Skinns had a 70. There are six golfers tied at 6-under.

Rodriguez, who also started his round on 10, had a chance for the outright lead on the ninth green. His four-foot birdie chance slid past the right side of the cup. He also missed a two-foot uphill birdie putt on his opening hole.

The 33-year-old finished the day at 2-under 69, with three birdies and a bogey on 7.

“I missed two of those putts (from) the same distance,” the good-natured Rodriguez said. “It’s OK. It’s golf.

“It was a good day. Again I hit it very good. There was just two putts I (missed) one metre. I played very good and I’m happy with that. I enjoyed my game.”

Amateur Eric Banks of Truro, who had a first-round 75, needed to make a charge Friday to make the cut. He did his best.

The 21-year-old lefty, who’ll enter his senior year at the University of Florida, was 3-under through 14 holes of his second round before three consecutive bogeys brought him back to even par. Banks finished his tournament at 4-over.

Eighty-two golfers made the 36-hole cut, which was at even par.

“I hadn’t been hitting the ball very well the last two days,” Banks said. “So on the front nine I was opening it up, hitting a fade, trying to get it into play and then letting my irons take over from there.

“I made a nice birdie on 4 and made a long putt on 5 for birdie which got me rolling. I was 3-under but down the stretch I hit some good shots that ended up in bad spots. My ball striking wasn’t great and it really showed at the end.

“It’s unfortunate I didn’t have my best ball-striking stuff with me this week,” said Banks, who finished with five birdies for his round. “But I got around in even-par today. If I could’ve done that on the first day I might have been moving on.

“It was a good experience. I’m an amateur and most of these guys here are trying to make a living so I still have some time.”

The other Nova Scotian to earn an exemption into the tournament — Baddeck’s Peter Campbell — carded a second-round 72 to finish at 9-over in his Web.com Tour debut.